Rice pics

Here's pictures of an unharvested rice field in Alexander County, Illinois. This field always catches my attention when I go by. About 20 years ago, I was working on the road nearby when they were grading the dykes around it, and the farm foreman explained to me that they were gonna plant rice. Today they had several fields harvested a few miles up the road, but this one was untouched. I know absolutely nothing about rice, but thought someone might enjoy seeing what it looks like in the field. It's an unusual crop for Illinois.

That's pretty cool. I've never been around rice either. I do have some land that might be suited for it.

That is "different" for that locality. I always thought it grew only in low lying wetlands, but I guess if you create your own swamp, it will grow in a lot of places.

There is a lot of rice grown here in NE Ar and the bootheel. I didn't realize there was any grown in IL.

Actually flooding rice is primarily for weed control. Back in the 60's I knew a black man that grew a fair sized patch of rice and only kept the soil moist. For the time it did very well.

I didn't know that! I never really took the time to study rice growing in-depth. All I remember is school books showing pictures of the little Chinese knee deep in water tending their rice paddies. Thanks for the information.

If you are talking wet lands, Brandon, then It will open up a whole can of worms, with the environmentalist's. Rice would have to bring gold prices, to even consider it. After all, you surely don't think you own the land, that you pay taxes on, do you? With me, Bonneville power administration, tells me where I can have a building, and trees. They came in and cut down a ten yr old apple tree, that was 10 ft shy, of their 87 1/2 feet rule. I found it out after the fact. Then when Bonneville gets done with me, I still have to answer to the environment people, and Pierce county. NO ONE OFFERS TO HELP PAY MY TAXES? Go figger!

I must have saw the same books as you. where ever rice was planted it was swampy looking.

For me no crop looks as good as the green carpet look of a nice rice field.

Old school rice need 3 months of temperatures that never go below 60 degrees but that has change in our lifetimes due to hybrid research.

Rice is flooded not only for weed control but also for disease control for such things as rice blast. If you try to grow it in unflooded fields you have problems trying to keeping the soil moist enough; keeping weeds from taking over the field; and increased lost from disease.

Question now is when are you guys gona start rotating rice with crawfish.

Thanks for the info John.

Just a few miles south of this rice field lived a man that I worked with (Thebes, Illinois). He and his father-in-law would seine buckets of crawdads and have a neighborhood feast with them. I never could eat a crawdad, but I had no trouble using them for fish bait. I can't see them as a cash crop in Illinois, but I'da bet against rice, too.

Down on the Texas coast a lot of rice is grown and in the winter it is prime Goose and duck hunting. The fields down there have a flat field with a moat dug around it and the dirt from the moat piled up on the outside of it making a berm.

When you are down there hunting without waders and a dog, if you shoot some game in the field, you have to get at it the best way you can.

One year I did and the moat was still full and I stripped my lower half and waded across the moat. In about 30 seconds my body was num and I didn't feel the cold for the rest of the round trip. When I got my clothes back on I felt hot.

But it was fun. What wasn't fun was having to lug your deeks and all several hundred yards from the road to the hunting place on foot. That was before the ATV and all that fancy stuff and probably the farmers wouldn't want you scarring up their fields anyway. But I don't know on that.

On hunting geese, they were easier to get at in dry fields and deeks were nothing more than patches of white sheets and you would lie on the ground amongst them with a larger one over you. Didn't dare turn your head and look at the birds as they would always see you and vector off honking and squaking. Peripheral vision is a must as is self control. Grin

Thanks for the pic. Funny that having lived down there and hunted and fished the areas, I never saw rice growing nor saw it in the pre-harvest state.

Mark

PJH, we are almost neighbors, I live in Cape Girardeau County. My dad was from Thebes, Il.

It's a small world. I'm trying to remember the name of the guy from Thebes that I worked with, but it has escaped me. He was a native, and your dad would have known him. I'll think of it about 2 in the morning, ha.

I actually live in northern Jackson County, IL. We were visiting Cape as a birthday excursion for my wife. She turned 65 yesterday.

The top picture is looking toward the City of Cape from Route 3 in Illinois.

I think I know the farm, you turn off of Hwy 3 at the rest area. My dad passed several yrs ago. Still lots of kin in the area, I'm a Hale.

We will all pretend you did not tell us your wife's age.

I had 26 acres that was suited for it earlier this summer here in southern Mn. Trouble is it was in the middle of my bean fields.